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DWH NRDA Drifter Deployments

Metadata Updated: September 25, 2025

Data collection as part of the Deepwater Horizion Carcass Drift Study (Bird Study #1D) occurred during July and August, 2011. Data were collected by R.G. Ford Consulting Company (RGFCC) and Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI), under contract to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and CardnoENTRIX personnel, under contract to the Responsible Party. There were two main objectives: to quantify the length of time study carcasses float prior to sinking, and quantify the proportion of study carcasses that do not sink and eventually become beached or stranded within the area searched for bird carcasses during the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. This information was used in the Trustees' quantification of avian mortality caused by the oil spill. Bird carcasses and dummies were dropped from boats and helicopters during July, 2011. Data collected on the deployment of each carcass and dummy are found in this Drift Deployments dataset. This data was recorded on field datasheets for some of the helicopter and boat drops, and also directly into an onboard computer (electronic datasheets) during helicopter drops on certain dates. After deployment, drifters were tracked by aerial, boat, and ground teams. Data collected on sightings of the drifters are captured in the Drifter Sightings dataset. Additional details on Bird Study #1D field efforts and results are provided in the work plan and End of Study Report (Draft Final End of Study Report Using Radio Telemetry to Determine the Fates of Bird Carcasses Drifting in the Northern Gulf of Mexico (Carcass Drift Study - Bird Study #1D), RGFCC 2/24/2014).

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

Downloads & Resources

Dates

Metadata Created Date September 11, 2025
Metadata Updated Date September 25, 2025

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI FWS DCAT-US

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date September 11, 2025
Metadata Updated Date September 25, 2025
Publisher U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Maintainer
Identifier http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/fws-servcat-103210
Data First Published 2011-08-06T00:00:00Z
Data Last Modified 2011-08-06T00:00:00Z
Category Generic Dataset
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:18
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://ddi.doi.gov/fws-data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id bf541088-d149-4dff-845d-50fcc659eaf3
Harvest Source Id f51f1f6c-4e4a-4e0a-b4e3-a5577c6dcc19
Harvest Source Title DOI FWS DCAT-US
Homepage URL https://iris.fws.gov/APPS/ServCat/Reference/Profile/103210
Program Code 010:094, 010:028
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash a0d4e3b2369b5ca6f94898e72f4324f87b18621262b0d0c967815aa21e13ffc5
Source Schema Version 1.1

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